Freshwater Society

Freshwater holds focus groups to inform State Drinking Water Plan:Freshwater worked with the Minnesota Department of Health, University of Minnesota's Water Resources Center, the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Clean River Partners to host a series of focus groups centered around drinking water management and governance in Minnesota. Those invited to attend were drinking water professionals from across the state, representing local, tribal, state, and federal governments, along with nonprofit water organizations, water advocacy groups, water utility providers, academics, and private water engineering firms and labs.The information gathered will be used to inform the Minnesota Department of Health's 10-year State Drinking Water Plan, currently under development.Great Lakes Protection Fund awards Freshwater $1.5 Million for water quality project:Freshwater was awarded $1.5 million from the Great Lakes Protection Fund to lead a 5-year effort to improve water quality across the Great Lakes states. The team will use cause marketing to raise funds for permanently converting marginal cropland to perennial vegetation, thereby enhancing carbon storage and curbing runoff.Working with local land trusts and watershed modeling experts, Freshwater will identify landowners in key locations and prioritize croplands that would provide the greatest water quality benefits.Freshwater leads climate resiliency workshops with Rice Creek Watershed District:Freshwater led a two-part climate resiliency workshop in partnership with Rice Creek Watershed District. Community members, partners and staff came together to identify particular locations within the watershed that have the potential to be heavily impacted by the effects of climate change. The information and perspectives gained from these workshops will be used to help Rice Creek Watershed District prioritize improvement projects for the watershed.Historic legislative session concludes with significant progress on water policy:When the Minnesota Legislature adjourned on May 22, the session was applauded by many conservation groups for providing significant investments in a broad range of environmental programs. Freshwater's legislative priorities were successful nearly across the board with progress in the areas of soil health, water storage, drinking water protection and moreMichelle Stockness joins Freshwater as new Executive Director:On May 30, Freshwater welcomed Michelle Stockness as the organization's new Executive Director. With 20 years of leadership experience in water quality and water supply, Michelle was most recently a vice president at Barr Engineering where she guided public and private clients through regulatory and environmental water issues across sectors including drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.As a civil engineer, Michelle has a deep understanding of water systems, and leads cross-sector initiatives including the Minnesota Infrastructure Alliance and the Minnesota Water Workforce pilot. Her role in national professional organizations like the American Water Works Association will also extend Freshwater's reach in community engagement, education, research and policy.Freshwater receives Joyce Foundation grant for Phase 2 of groundwater governance work:Freshwater has begun a second phase of work to build capacity for groundwater governance in the Great Lakes region funded by the Joyce Foundation. The team will be following recommendations summarized in the report, Groundwater Governance, Well Cobbled?, which assessed the technical, legal and structural capacity of the six Great Lakes states and 35 federally recognized tribes in EPA Region 5. The goal of the first phase documented the existing policies and practices affecting groundwater that feeds our lakes, rivers, wetlands and drinking water and serves as a baseline to frame future groundwater policy work.This continued work is intended to provide governing agencies, elected officials and other decision makers with defined strategies on how to equitably and sustainably manage groundwater over the long term.Lake Hiawatha trash boom installed with project partners and local community:Community members and project partners gathered at Lake Hiawatha in south Minneapolis on June 3 to celebrate installation of a new boom system designed to keep trash from entering the lake through a storm drain outfall. This innovative project is a collaboration between Freshwater, River Network, the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Friends of Lake Hiawatha, and Osprey Initiative.Debris collected in this series of three booms will be sorted, recorded and disposed of properly by a trained maintenance team. The collected debris will help the City of Minneapolis to better understand the extent of the pollution problem, and to enact measures to reduce pollution further upstream. Freshwater supporters gather at Harriet Island Pavillion for Water Connects Us:Freshwater's annual fundraising benefit, Water Connects Us, took place at Harriet Island Wigington Pavilion in Saint Paul. This was Freshwater's first in-person fundraiser since 2019, and we decided to host a free event to make it more inclusive.The program was moderated by Jothsna Harris of Change Narrative with a welcome by new Freshwater Executive Director Michelle Stockness and music by Buffalo Weavers. Tyler Pederson from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board spoke about efforts to revitalize Lake Hiawatha, followed by the premiere of a video about Sean Connaughty, a Minneapolis educator and clean water advocateMinnesota Water Stewards program celebrates 10 years:In 2023, Freshwater celebrated a decade of the Minnesota Water Stewards program, which has trained and certified nearly 500 volunteers to be community leaders for clean water. This groundbreaking approach to water conservation empowers participants to implement demonstration projects that both improve water quality and raise awareness in their communities. Many stewards have also taken active roles in advancing clean water policy at the local, city and state level.